A cable harness is an assembly of cables or wires. The cables or wires generally transmit electrical power and/or electrical or optical signals.
Cable harnesses are commonly used in aircraft, other vehicles and machinery. They provide a means of routing a plurality of cables through an aircraft structure. A cable harness, also known as a wire harness, cable assembly, wiring assembly or wiring loom, comprises a plurality of cables or wires. The cables may be bound together by one or more straps, sleeves, or the like.
There is a need to mount a cable harness to a support, which may form part of the structure of an aircraft, other vehicle or machinery, to secure the cable harness in position along part or all of its length. By mounting the cable to a support it is possible to restrict movement of the cable. This aids against the adverse effects of vibrations, abrasions and prevents the cables from become trapped by moving parts.
It is known to use clamps to mount a cable harness to one or more. To mount a harness to a support, the harness is generally mounted to the clamp and the clamp is then mounted to the support. This may be time consuming. Such an arrangement also commonly uses a bolt attachment to mount the clamp to a support. However, this requires the use of a number of components, for example a bolt, washers, a nut and/or an anchor nut with rivets.
Furthermore, a direct line of access may be required to engage a tool with the bolt to affix the mount to the support. Such access may be difficult. Similar problems will recur throughout the life of the aircraft during maintenance and repair.
In some situations one or more clamps are know to fail which may result in damage to the cable harness, the structure or other systems if contact is made.